Roth Capital affirms Ballard Power (Nasdaq: BLDP) with a Buy rating and $2.50 price target after the company announced that it has signed a Distribution Agreement with Toyota Tsusho Corporation ("TTC), a member Company of the Toyota Group.

Analyst Craig Irwin commented on Thursday, We see this as a significant incremental positive given Japanese government support for rising fuel cell investment, and active vehicle deployments. The anticipated Japanese launch of various fuel cell buses and forklifts could present an important incremental opportunity for Ballard, in our view.

The Japanese government appears to be ramping its commitment to the fuel cell space. Reports indicate Japan plans to spend $100m on development of hydrogen infrastructure and various other hydrogen initiatives over the next five years.

Sales momentum for the Toyota Mirai appears well supported with global targets of 2,000 units shipped in 2016, and 3,000 units in 2017. We understand that Toyota and Honda combined are targeting 6,000 fuel cell vehicles on the road in Japan by the Olympics, with 35 new hydrogen refueling stations, the analyst noted.

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